Left, Arabs and The ‘Israeli Democracy’

In the ‘Only Democracy in the Middle East’ the Government decided to get rid of marginal opposition. The Knesset passed yesterday a bill that seeks to raise election threshold to 4%. The new law is set to block the Arab and Left parties in Israel from participation in the political game. This is clearly a non-democratic move, however, we have to remember that Israel defines itself as the ‘Jewish State’ – it is primarily committed to Jewish interests. Democracy, for that matter, is far from being a crucial or significant for most Israelis. From a Judeo-centric perspectives, democracy is basically a Hasbara plot, there to differentiate Israel from their neighbours.

In the light of the new bill, Israeli Left and Arab parties would have a simple choice - they either unite or face political eradication. The question is whether Israeli ‘Left’ and Arabs have enough in common. We will soon find out if the Israeli Left - a secularist, Judeo-centric, hedonist and righteous worldview have anything in common with the Arabs - a proletarian, mostly Muslim and patriarchal society.

The truth of the matter is that I don’t hold my breath, but I also hope to be wrong. And if I am wrong, we would have to congratulate Netanyahu for achieving the impossible – Bonding the Israeli elitist Left with Israel’s working class i.e. the Arabs